Homeserve defied the downturn in consumer spending last year after strong
international growth and customer loyalty helped it report a 27pc rise in
full-year profits.

The company, which provides cover for household emergencies such as broken boilers, beat City expectations as pre-tax profits hit £102.2m in the year ending March 31 – up from £80.8m last time.

Homeserve said its customer numbers increased by 3pc in the UK – which represents the bulk of its business – and 8pc worldwide during the period.

The group benefited as the number of renewal customers fell by just 0.1pc, despite the global recession. Investors had feared the company would suffer as consumers looked to save money by opting out of protection on household appliances.

The better-than-expected results enabled the group to pay a final dividend of 8.5p per share, payable on August 4. The company has also proposed a 5 for 1 share split in order to improve the liquidity of its shares. The shares closed down 1p at £19.09.

Richard Harpin, chief executive, said: "During the year we successfully completed the exit from our [business to business arm] allowing us to focus all of our resources on the growth and development of our membership businesses.

"We have also expanded our global marketing footprint with the addition of a number of new partners including Dyson and GB Oils in the UK, Agbar in Spain and Piedmont Gas in the US."

Mr Harpin said the company would also look to make acquisitions with up to £100m available to spend on utility home cover services.